Local MP Jesse Norman has been promoted to Paymaster General and Financial Secretary to the Treasury as part of a ministerial reshuffle. He was previously Minister of State at the Department of Transport.

Commenting, Jesse said:

“I am delighted to have been asked by the Prime Minister to take on the role as Financial Secretary and Paymaster General at HM Treasury. All the more so since it’s 237 years and two months since one of my great heroes, Edmund Burke, was made Paymaster General.

“But I must say I am very sad to be leaving the Department of Transport, where I have pushed for much more investment in local and strategic roads, in cycling and walking, in electric vehicles and e-cargo bikes, in road safety and in light rail.

“All of these elements will make a huge difference in Herefordshire. And as always I will continue to work very vigorously to make sure that the voices of my county and my constituents are heard in Whitehall.”

The launch of Hereford Museum and Art Gallery’s Lego Brick History Exhibition last week is a wonderful Easter opportunity for families. It takes famous moments in history and recreates them in Lego bricks. There are lots of activities on offer too, right through April to May 18th--you can even bring your own Lego models!

Local MP Jesse Norman joined a large gathering of local people last Friday to celebrate the move of NMITE, the New Model in Technology and Engineering, Herefordshire's new university, into its first campus buildings at Blackfriars in the city.

The Prime Minister has set out a timetable: a vote on the Withdrawal Agreement by March 12th (with a reported Labour amendment in favour of a second referendum); a vote on whether the UK should press ahead without a deal on the 13th; and a vote on a possible “limited extension” to Article 50 on the 14th.

Last year I wrote to the Prime Minister to suggest a loan of our Mappa Mundi and Magna Carta to France, recognising the generous loan of the Bayeux Tapestry to the UK. And I haven’t given up hope—as always the key is persistence.